Investigative interview: recommendations for Ukraine

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of such criminal procedural institution as an investigative interview. This institution is the result of the search for new methods of gathering information during criminal proceedings in a way that provides for an unequivocal ban on torture or other ill-treatment of a person involved in criminal proceedings. The article defines the specifics of the prohibition of torture in international law in terms of the duty of law enforcement agencies not to allow any deviation from the norm. As a result, the above is emphasized by the special severity of such a crime, which is immoral, degrading to human dignity, and cannot be justified under any circumstances. It is stated that by its nature the process of torturing dehumanizes and denies a person's legitimate right to respect for dignity, while treating both body and soul as a means to achieve the specific goals of criminal proceedings, and is also the worst form of suffering that one person can inflict on another, leading to reputational losses of law enforcement agencies and the negative impact on the entire life of a person involved in criminal proceedings who suffered from such lawlessness. In particular, the emergence of the institution of investigative interview was a response to numerous requests from society around the world in the struggle to protect their rights and fundamental freedoms, which can not be restricted or violated by law enforcement officials. This article examines the use of the “classical system” of interrogations in Ukraine aimed at obtaining a confession, which, as a result, leads to a rather tolerant attitude of law enforcement agencies to manipulation and deception during interrogation, and sometimes to mental pressure and torture of participants in criminal proceedings. In particular, the author proposes to change the legal culture of national criminal procedural legislation by introducing the institution of investigative interview in Ukraine or, to begin with, to conduct interrogations using the principles, methods and objectives of investigative interview, as this will be a step forward in the development of democratic institutions in the state and will facilitate their practical implementation in criminal justice.